Weiji
by samtana
Summary: The group finds themselves in a small town, where they meet new friends, old enemies, and maybe even some romance. Maybe? Kataang and a bit of Tokka. Final chapter is up.
1. Chapter 1

This isn't like me at all. Not at all. A series, not a one-shot. No surrealism. Other characters.

That settles it. Nanowrimo drove me insane.

This is supposed to be an episode snugly fit between the Puppet Master and Nightmares and Daydreams. The end of the chapter is where the commercial break would be.

I don't own Avatar. I don't make any money from this fan fiction. If I did I would give it to starving kids in Africa. So if you sue me, you're suing starving kids in Africa. Have that on your conscience.

**WEIJI**

**Chapter 1**

Aang threw a pebble into the air. Momo lunged at it, but Aang twitched his wrist and changed its trajectory. Momo's small fingers wrapped around thin air, and the confused lemur twirled around to see the pebble once again in the hand of the laughing monk. Momo angrily took a pebble on the ground and threw, making Aang yelp when it collided with his forehead.

"I wish you'd help with the tent a little," sighed Katara. She was struggling hammering the stakes into the ground.

Aang rolled on his back and groaned. "But it's been such a long day," he complained. "Can't I have some rest after walking all day? It's not like we can fly through the Fire Nation, right?"

Katara sighed.

"Hey, Sweetness," Toph called over from her self-made rocky perch, picking her toes. "How come when I don't help with the tent I get the sugar treatment, but when he doesn't, you don't give a bison's burp about it?"

"I'm too tired to argue," said Katara. "Walking all day really wears you out." Her stomach gurgled uncomfortably.

"Maybe it's time for dinner," said Aang.

"I think you're right," said Katara. She called over to Sokka, seated diligently by the river. "Hey, Sokka! How's the fishing going?"

"Splendid-full," Sokka called back. "It's going great."

"Yeah," taunted Toph. "If you're a fish!"

"Hey, I'll have you know I caught two fish already!" retorted Sokka.

"Great!" said Katara, walking over. "Let me see!"

She peered into the bucket.

"There has to be some mistake," she groaned, clutching her stomach. "Those can't be any bigger than that pebble Aang was playing with."

"I know!" exclaimed Sokka proudly. "And the good news is I'm just getting warmed up!"

"No, you're not," said Katara. "We're going to have to get food from somewhere else."

"We could eat six-legs here," joked Toph, her index finger hard at work in her ear.

"Ha ha," said Sokka sarcastically.

"Seriously, Toph," grumbled Aang. "Don't joke like that. There's no way we would ever eat Appa."

"It looks like we need to find a market," said Katara.

"Right," said Toph. "And it's not like we're running low on cash." she spun a gold piece on the rock next to her and used another to scratch her armpit. "The Runaway can always spot you guys."

"But a big one's about to bite!" insisted Sokka. "We can be eating in a few minutes!"

"I wasn't going to eat fish anyway, Sokka," said Aang, airbending himself to his feet.

"Hey, boomerang guy, read this map for us," ordered Toph.

Sokka stared after her for a moment, trying to think of a great comeback. Uncharacteristically, he found nothing good to say, so he threw the fishing rod to the ground and grumbled something about how if they didn't his fishing skills then Aang could just make another necklace with the fishing line. Aang seriously considered retrieving the line for this purpose. Ever since Katara had taken off her mother's necklace for her Fire Nation disguise Aang thought her neck looked unusually bare. But he decided that he liked seeing more of her skin, so he left the fishing rod and joined the others. Besides, if Katara really wanted a necklace made of fishing line she would have kept the one Aang made for her the first time.

"Oh, well," said Sokka, standing up. "We're way too far from the nearest town. It looks like I'm going to have to fish for our dinner."

"Relax, Sokka," said a weary Katara. "We haven't even opened the map yet."

"Oh, yeah," he grumbled, sitting on the floor and watching Katara unfold the map of the Fire Nation. "We're here," he pointed to a spot on the map. "And the nearest town is right here." He pointed to another spot.

"Wow, that's, like, right next to us!" said Aang excitedly.

"It's called Weiji," read Katara.

"Sounds good enough for me," said Toph, rising to her feet. "Look's like you don't need Twinkle Toes's help with the tent after all, Sunshine."

"Not yet," said Katara, glancing at Aang.

The walk to town was not far. In fact, it could possibly even have been described as pleasant, except for Sokka grumbling about how his fishing skills weren't appreciated enough. The brilliant sunset looking over a small valley town was one of the prettiest things Aang had seen in the Fire Nation, even back before he was frozen.

The town was filled with artists. Sculptors, mainly. There was a large art fair and countless booths erected in the center of town, the shadows of the various marble and stone monuments imposing themselves majestically on the surface of the earth. The reddening sunset sky projected itself on the artworks. Aang stopped at one piece that looked eerily similar to that of Oma and Shu that he and Katara saw in the cave, the evening sun lighting the stone with the same color his torch had.

Ah, good memories.

"Come on, Aang," said Katara, dragging him by his arm through the fair. "I know you like the sculpture, but we've got to find some food."

"How could you tell I liked it so much?" asked Aang, not realizing how long he had been parked in front of it.

"You were smiling," she said. "You do that when you don't realize it quite a lot."

Aang smiled and realized it this time. More good memories. He blushed.

"My, aren't you two a lovely couple," one of the art merchants said to Aang and Katara. "I could easily make a sculpture of you two for only fifty gold pieces, custom made, from me, Anon Omis, the world famous sculptor."

Aang's blush got even more intense and he had to turn away from Katara to hide it. The idea was… nice.

"I'm sorry," said Katara, not embarrassed at all. "But we don't have the money."

"Yes, we do," Toph reminded her. "Remember? The Runaway?" She jingled her purse, drawing Anon's eyes.

"If you could tell us where we could find a food vendor," Katara said, "that would be greatly appreciated."

Aang sighed.

"Well," said Anon, "here in Weiji we've got two food sellers. One is a man who recently arrived here and sells nothing but cabbages, but I'd stick away from him if I were you. Crazy stories, that one tells. I think he lost his mind. You should go to Kyp if you're looking for foodstuffs. He's a couple stores down that way." Anon pointed.

"Thank you, Anon," said Katara. Aang bowed respectfully.

"He's the one with the big beard and big hair," Anon called after them as they turned to go. "And give my offer a thought once you've filled your bellies, all right?"

Kyp certainly had a big beard and big hair. They made his head look twice as big as it really was. Otherwise he was surprisingly frail, but his hair had a domineering attitude. It was almost scary to approach him. Katara didn't seem to care, though. She was like that.

"Are you Kyp?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am," he said with a surprisingly soft and nasally voice. It made Aang want to laugh, but then he was afraid that Kyp's hair would attack him. "Are you here to buy some food?"

"Yes, please."

"Do you have any fish?" asked Toph with a wide grin.

Sokka gritted his teeth and gestured at her wildly with his hands, looking for something worthwhile to yell at her. This was what his insults sounded like: "Flabber funger foodle mister crumpet mudpie you!" And, of course, Toph couldn't see the gestures, but she sure could feel him stomping on the ground.

"Sorry, no fish today," said Kyp.

"Well, we'll take whatever meat you have."

"And some vegetables, please," said Aang.

"Hold on a moment," said Kyp, ducking below the counter and procuring the food. Sokka stopped being so angry when he set his eyes on the meat. His mouth watered.

"This town is so… artistic," commented Aang as Katara paid for the food and Toph scratched her side.

"Yes, it is," said Kyp meekly. "Weiji has been the home of the best sculptors of the world for generations."

"It shows," complimented Katara. "There's some great art here."

"I'm glad you like it," said Kyp, his hands behind his back. "If you've got some time during your travels you should stick around."

"Thank you," said Katara, used to making excuses not to spend nights in Fire Nation villages. "But we have to keep moving."

There was a loud roar from the nearby hilltop, and Aang turned to see a group of four familiar Fire Nation soldiers atop menacing rhinos. Katara and Sokka immediately looked for cover, finding it behind the sculptures. Toph took a fighting stance, but Aang pushed her arms back to her side.

The Rough Rhinos pranced into the town, the rhinos' tails whipping about this way and that. One crashed into the sculpture that looked like Oma and Shu, shattering it to pieces. Aang winced.

"I am Colonel Monkai," shouted the leader of the group, a man with a neatly trimmed beard and a nose ring, "leader of the Rough Rhinos, and I am here under the orders of Fireloard Ozai to wipe this miserable village off the face of the earth."

Colonel Monkai sent a fireball from his fingertips and the roofs of the houses on his left were set ablaze, the same color as the evening sky.

"What?" shouted Anon who was cowering in the corner of his booth. "Why are you doing this?"

"This town is filled with Earth Kingdom hideaways," growled Colonel Monkai. "Many of whom are earthbenders."

"That's absurd!" shouted Anon, his voice shaking. "We're all faithful Fire Nation citizens!"

"He's right!" shouted one of the other vendors.

"We're all Fire Nation!"

Colonel Monkai grinned. "Is that so?" he mused. "But Fire Lord Ozai was so sure that you're all imposters."

He thrust his arm to his right. The houses on both sides were now lit up and sending smoke into the air. Now it was Toph who had to restrain Aang. Colonel Monkai gazed around the town square, showing his teeth through a crooked grin.

"We'll see if there are no earth benders in this village."

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Mmm. Cliffhanger.

I have a plan for the rest of the story, but I'm willing to take suggestions, as always. I'll finish it even if you hate it, so feel free to let your feelings be felt.

I spelled Monkai wrong, didn't I?

I'm bad at names, so I stole them from other places. One of the characters uses one of my other pen names. Kyp is the name of a quasi-famous musician who I think would be a great earthbender. And Weiji is the name of a song I like. If you can prove you know where any of these names come from, especially the name of the town, I will do something very nice for you. Promise.

-samtana


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Avatar. Fooled you, didn't I? No? Fine, then.

**Chapter 2**

"We'll see if there are no earth benders in this village."

Colonel Monkai raised his hand, preparing to signal the rest of the Rough Rhinos to attack the village. Toph's grip on Aang strengthened as he tried to squirm away. He couldn't stand the looks on the villagers faces. If Toph could only see how helpless they looked she would understand.

Water rained down over the roofs of the flaming houses. Katara had drawn a stream from one of the faucets and used it to put out the fires. She glared at Colonel Monkai and his band of bullies, the village smoking around them. Everyone's eyes were on the suddenly discovered water bender who was standing bravely in front of the Rough Rhinos.

Colonel Monkai grinned. "I remember you," he said. "You're that Water Tribe peasant who was traveling with the Avatar!" He turned back to Anon. "Harboring fugitives is a terrible crime," he said, raising his hands, fire flowing from the fingertips. One of the Rough Rhinos notched an arrow. Another spun his chain ball.

"Stupid, impulsive Sugar Queen," muttered Toph. "Keep him out of trouble, okay, Kyp?" she said, shoving Aang into Kyp's booth. Kyp sighed.

"Stay secret!"added Toph as she ran to Katara's side. Sokka was already there, sword at the ready.

Colonel Monkai laughed. "If you insist," he spat.

A flaming arrow flew at Katara, which Sokka sliced in half with his sword. The man with the chain ball hurled it towards Toph, who knocked it out of the way with a boulder. Katara ran towards Colonel Monkai, her canteen open. The Colonel sent a fireball at her face. She slid just underneath it, making a path of ice for her to follow. She slid between the rhino's legs, avoiding another fire blast. Catching Colonel Monkai off guard, Toph threw a boulder in his direction. An arrow pierced through the center of the boulder, shattering it instantly.

"Katara! Watch out!" shouted Sokka. A small bomb had landed just next to her. She surrounded the fuse with ice, rendering it useless. The chain ball zipped at Sokka, who jumped over it. He flipped in the air and grabbed the chain with his off-hand, yanking it forward and sending the man who had thrown it off his rhino. Toph hurled another boulder, but Colonel Monkai's rhino turned around and smashed it with its tail.

Back at the food vendor's, Aang could do nothing but watch.

"Hey, Kyp?" he asked. "Do you know anything about, you know, love?"

Kyp shrugged. "I know how to spell it."

Aang sighed.

The man with the chain had mounted his rhino again and Katara, Toph, and Sokka had regrouped, now surrounded by the four men on rhinos. They panted together, searching for some way to get out of their situation.

"There's too many of them!" said Katara.

"If only we could separate them," said Sokka. "Or if there were more of us."

As if on cue, a wall of earth slammed into Colonel Monkai's rhino, sending him flying into one of the sculptures.

"Hey, nice one, Toph," said Sokka.

"That wasn't me," said Toph.

The remaining Rough Rhinos turned to see a group of earth benders, Anon Omis included, chucking giant rocks at them. Katara, Toph, and Sokka sprang back into action. Within a few quick moments all the Rough Rhinos were imprisoned in either earth or ice.

"Ha!" Sokka taunted Colonel Monkai as he came to. "That's what you get for messing with us!"

"Right, Sokka," said Katara, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure your plan was for the town to actually be filled with earth benders."

"It was my back-up," retorted Sokka.

Aang joined the group gathered around the defeated invaders. "So you're all earth benders?" he said to Anon with a wide grin. "What are you doing so deep inside the Fire Nation?"

"Oh, we've lived here for generations," said Anon. "Our people have always been great sculptors, and this little valley is the home of incredible marble deposits."

"Sounds perfect for you guys," said Katara.

"Well," said Sokka, stretching, "this has been a little more adventure than I bargained for. Come on, guys. We should get moving."

"Hey, wait!" said Anon. "Why don't you guys stay for the night? We owe it to you for your help. Any friends of the Avatar, rest his soul, are friends of our."

"Right," said Aang, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Rest his soul."

"That's very kind of you," said Katara. "But we're on a tight schedule and we really should go."

"We'll throw you a feast, too," said Anon.

Sokka and Toph wolfed down the meat in front of them, Katara trying her absolute hardest not to pay attention. She struck up conversation with Kyp, which didn't get very far because Kyp was not a very talkative person. He enjoyed nodding and shrugging more than spoken language. And besides, his voice wasn't loud enough to drown out the gross chewing, gulping, and burping noises coming from her brother and Toph. Her eyes drifted to the door where Aang sat, alone, staring off to the west as the sun set. Katara excused herself and walked over.

"Hey, you haven't eaten anything," she said.

Aang grunted.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, sitting down and setting her hand on his surprisingly cold shoulder.

Aang wiped his eyes and looked into her eyes. "I miss Gyatso," he said.

"Gyatso?" asked Katara, confused. "I thought you were done dwelling on the past. That's what you said after that mean fisherman yelled at you."

"I just said that so you wouldn't worry about me anymore."

"What brought this up all of a sudden?" asked Katara. "Why are you thinking about the air benders now?"

"Well," said Aang, "we just saved this village, this unique village of artists, from being wiped out from the Fire Nation."

"I don't understand," said Katara. "Isn't that a good thing?"

Aang sighed and looked away. Toph was asking for seconds behind them while some of the earth benders were singing on the tables. Aang and Katara ignored the sounds.

"I couldn't fight," he said. "If the villagers hadn't stepped in you would have lost or I would have needed to reveal myself. And I would have failed. Again. And another people, another culture, would have been wiped out. Just like the air benders."

Katara pulled him into a hug, letting his tears fall on her dress and warm her shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said. "I know it doesn't help much, but I hope we can replace some of your pain with friendship and love."

Aang looked up aft her again. "Love manifests itself in new forms, in the form of new friends and companions. In you. Katara, I love you," said Aang. Except he didn't really say it. He just wished he did.

"Hey, Twinkle Toes!" shouted Toph. Somehow the loudest person Aang knew had managed to sneak up on him. "It's time for some earth bending training!"

"Can't you give him a minute?" snarled Katara.

"No, it's okay," said Aang, standing up. "Thanks for listening, Katara." Aang walked out with Toph, taking a path away from the village where they could earth bend without disturbing anyone. Katara gazed after him, watching as he hung his head and dragged himself beside Toph. Obviously he wasn't okay.

Once they were out of sight, Toph slugged Aang's shoulder. Aang yelped.

"Ow! Why'd you do that?"

"Next time you should just kiss her," said Toph bluntly.

"Wait, what?"

"Listen, smart guy," said Toph, jabbing his chest with a finger, "No matter how many little hints you leave her, she's never going to figure it out."

"Figure what out?" asked Aang. Then, realizing what she meant, added quietly, "Wait, you know?"

Toph guffawed. "Of course I know. You make it so obvious!"

Aang hung his head. "I know," he complained. "But she doesn't seem to get it. I mean, even that crazy sculptor who I've never met before could tell!"

"Is that a problem, lover boy?" asked Toph. "Because if it were, I'd try hiding it better."

"No," said Aang. "I want her to notice. But she never does."

"Let me tell you something about Water Tribe people," said Toph. "They're so wrapped up in their mushy love affair with their family and their tribe that they can't tell one kind of love from another."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll put it simply," said Toph, stomping her foot on the ground. "If you don't kiss her, she'll just think you love her like a sister. Trust me, I know."

Aang gulped. It was such a nice prospect, but so scary at the same time. "Thanks, Toph," he said nervously as they separated and prepared to begin earth bending training.

"Be confident," she said. "Attack your problems head-on like an earth bender."

"All right," said Aang. "Wait, how do you know this stuff about how Water Tribe people think about love?" he asked. The only Water Tribe people she could have learned this from were Katara and Sokka. Could it be…?

Toph hurled a boulder at Aang before he could make the realization.

A boulder smashed in the distance as Sokka grabbed the seat in the doorway next to Katara, the seat already warmed from Aang's previous presence there. Together they stared in silence as the sun finished setting. Sokka sighed.

"Do you feel like taking a walk?" he asked.

"Sure," said Katara, standing up. The brother and sister made their way away from the town, heading towards a hill that could maybe give them a better view of the sunset. They walked silently. They had been traveling together for so long without much time alone. They didn't really know what to do with it anymore. They reached the top of the hill and sat down, gazing together out over the small valley and the village below.

"It's warm," Sokka said.

Katara knew what he meant. "And big," she replied.

They continued to stare at the sunset, the sky turning from a shade of deep red to dark purple.

Sokka smiled. "You know, we do pretty well for two kids who've never left the South Pole," he said.

Katara chuckled. "You think so?"

"Well, we are saving the world," said Sokka.

"I never knew what the world was before," said Katara. She turned to face Sokka. "All I knew about the world was from the legends. But now I get to actually see it."

"I like it, too," said Sokka.

"Even if it's warm?" smiled Katara.

Sokka nodded. "And big."

"I'm worried about Aang," said Katara.

"He's the Avatar," said Sokka. "If anyone can figure things out it's him."

"That's the problem," said Katara. "He's being expected to solve all the world's problems, but he's only a twelve-year-old kid."

"Thirteen," corrected Sokka. "He had a birthday while he was unconscious after getting hit by Azula's lightning. He told me."

"Oh, whatever," said Katara. "Thirteen. And everyone's expecting him throw away his childhood. Like it's so easy."

"Hey, growing up isn't so bad," said Sokka. "We had to grow up pretty fast too, you know."

"Yeah," said Katara. "But I miss having a childhood. Fun for the sake of fun. The kind of thing Aang brought to our village when we first found him."

Sokka turned to the sunset again. "I guess I know what you mean," he said.

"Aang doesn't want to grow up," said Katara. "He's fighting it as hard as he can, but he's being forced to all the time. It's so unfair."

"Maybe we can show him something good about growing up," suggested Sokka.

"How?" asked Katara. "What part of growing up would appeal to Aang?"

Sokka rubbed his chin. "I'm not sure," he said. "I like being able to fight Fire Nation soldiers, but Aang isn't into that kind of thing."

"You like Suki," joked Katara.

"Yes," he retorted defensively. "As a matter of fact, I do like Suki!" The two looked back at the sunset, Sokka's face turning quizzical as he put two and two together. "Wait, Katara," asked Sokka. "Do you realize what you just said?"

"Yeah. I said that you like Suki," she said, not realizing what she had really said.

Sokka shrugged. "Just curious."

A large blast echoed throughout the valley coming from where Toph and Aang were earth bending. Sokka and Katara leapt to their feet, looking wildly about.

Moments before, Toph's head turned, attentive to something deep in the woods. Aang heard it, too. The sound of someone drawing in a deep breath through his nose. In the distance Aang could barely make out the form of a man, but Aang already knew what he looked like. He already knew the man had a metallic arm, muscles that would make the Boulder cry, a fierce goatee, and a tattoo of an eye on his forehead.

And Aang already knew he could blow things up with his mind.

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I really, really wanted Aang's talk with Toph to be with Suki instead. Usually the Toph relationship advice plotlines all end up the same. But it would never work in the established plot, except during the Serpent's Pass, when Aang wouldn't have been very receptive to relationship advice. Besides Suki, Toph would be the best one to notice how clueless our Water Tribe friends are about being wanted on. Anyhow, I hope that it worked for everyone.

And who knew a fight scene was so hard to write? I should have asked Booter-Freak to do it for me. He's good at that sort of thing.

Actually, after reading it again, it's not as bad as I thought. More Combustion Man coming up in the ensuing segment. Exclamation point. And more romance? Maybe...

-samtana


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own Avatar. I sold it on eBay for $30.

**Weiji Chapter 3**

Wind blew gently through the leaves, the tranquil evening progressing as if there hadn't been an invasively loud crashing sound moments before. In fact, the atmosphere could have even been described as peaceful. The sun was down, the houses quiet, the cold stone sculptures resting in eternal stillness along the main street. All the houses of Weiji were silent. Everything was dark save for the bright moon, the moon that that had recently been so full, reminding Katara of recent horrors and Sokka of lost love.

There was another blast, seeming to shake the houses below. Someone should have woken up by now, lit a candle, stepped outside to see what was going on. It was too peaceful for something like that to happen. Or maybe all the villagers were too smart to go out into the open when there were giant blasts of fire nearby. They could have all been hiding in their tranquil, silent houses.

Another boom of thunder sent a tree flying, engulfed in flames, from the area where Toph and Aang had been practicing earth bending.

"Hurry, Katara!" shouted Sokka, running towards the village.

"We need to help them!" screamed Katara. "Why are you going to the village?"

"It's a village of earth benders," panted Sokka. "They'll be able to help!"

"Well, I'm going to find Aang and Toph," shouted Katara, splitting away from Sokka.

Sokka cursed under his breath, but he knew his mission was only necessary for one person to carry out. He sprinted towards the sleeping village and tried not to wince every time he heard an explosion. He quickly arrived at the foot of the sculpture of Oma and Shu. The time had seemed much longer. Thinking of doom and destruction always seems to make time slow down. He pounded on Anon Omis's door without bothering to catch his breath.

"Anon!" he shouted. "Anon! We need your help!"

Sokka pounded again. He was ready to bulldoze the door with his sword if he needed to. He peered through the window, his breath fogging up the glass under his nose and mouth. There was no one inside the small art shop as far as he could see, which wasn't very far in the darkness. Sokka gritted his teeth and moved on to Kyp's food stall, pounding on the counter so hard it turned his knuckles red.

Another blast shook the entire village. The battle must have been moving towards the town. Sokka had to act quickly to save it from being blown up. Sokka pounded on the counter again, shouting Kyp's name.

Nothing.

Sokka was beyond frustration at this point; he had a new sense of urgency. And so, his veins coursing with adrenaline, he turned to the empty street and shouted as loud as his lungs would allow:

"We need your help! For the sake of the Avatar, in the name of peace, we need somebody's help! Anybody's!"

The wind blew leaves over Sokka's feet. His voice stopped echoing throughout the valley. There were no more fire blasts from Toph and Aang's direction. There was only the sound of the wind. Sokka had been used to the wind causing him to hug himself for warmth, but now he blocked off hot smoke from blowing into his eyes with his forearm. Everyone was gone. It was just the four of them and the invincible fire bender.

Realizing what had happened, Sokka spat on the sculpture of Oma and Shu and brought his sword down on it, permanently severing their lips. "Thanks for nothing!" he shouted as the sculpture crashed to the ground.

There was another large blast. Combustion Man had restarted his campaign of destruction.

"Katara!" shouted Aang. "Watch out!"

Katara bolted away just before Combustion Man fried at the tree she had been hiding behind. Aang and Toph were each hiding behind trees as well, and Combustion Man had started busying himself by destroying the entire forest in search of them. He turned to the sound of Aang's voice and took a deep breath through his nose. Aang knew this was the time to dart away, and an explosion of flaming bark and tree leaves flew all around him. One piece stabbed Aang in his shoulder and he yelped out in pain.

"Aang!" cried Katara.

Toph launched a boulder towards Combustion Man who shattered it easily with his metal arm as Aang pulled the piece of bark out of his shoulder and leapt into a tree. Combustion Man's next shot connected with its base. Aang jumped into the air as the tree tumbled to earth, flying right above Combustion Man's head. Combustion Man looked at the monk and took a deep breath through his nose, and Aang realized he had nowhere to go.

Luckily Toph and Katara were able to take advantage of Combustion Man's momentary distraction, attacking from both sides. Ice smacked the side of his head and sent his blast off course while the earth beneath his feet shifted and caused him to lose his balance. He was still able to block Sokka's boomerang, announcing the Water Tribe warrior's arrival to the scene. Aang tried to blow Combustion Man away with air bending, but the wall of muscle refused to budge. He took a deep breath through his nose and sent a blast at Sokka who was sent tumbling despite his best efforts at dodging.

Toph tried to surround him with an earthy prison, but he broke out with sheer strength, sending small pebbles flying from him. The force knocked Aang into a tree and forced Toph to create an earth shield to protect herself with. Katara was still standing, protected by ice, but she stood too close to the lethal fire bender. With a simple swing of his arm Combustion Man shattered the ice and knocked Katara to the ground. He glared at her and took a deep breath though his nose.

With all the speed and energy he could muster, Aang dove between Combustion Man's freakish forehead tattoo and the injured water bender. He closed his eyes, bracing for the blast was to incinerate him, saving Katara's life.

He heard the blast. He heard the tree next to him and Katara explode. Aang opened his eyes to see a frail-looking earth bender with a large beard and big hair sending rocks at a retreating Combustion Man.

"Get out of here!" shouted Kyp, continuing his advance. "And be sure to end this war, Mr. Avatar!"

Aang helped Katara to her feet and the pair ran off, joining Toph who supported Sokka's body weight on her shoulders. They fled together from the sounds of fire blasts and shattering earth, rushing to Appa filled with fear and desperation. Toph threw Sokka onto bison's back and Aang and Katara threw their supplies next to him.

"Yip yip! Yip yip!" shouted Sokka as he scrambled to take the reins, taking care to avoid further injuring his side as he did so. Aang helped Katara and Toph on as the giant beast took off.

A deafening explosion echoed throughout the valley and the entire night sky was lit orange for a moment. Then the sky was dark again and the only thing coming from the forest was smoke.

Sokka climbed back onto the saddle, clutching his side.

"They tricked us!" he said spitefully. "There was no one around! They must have told Combustion Man exactly where we were!"

"At least Kyp was nice enough to save us," said Toph, already sounding bored as she picked at her toes again.

"That's it!" exclaimed Sokka. "From now on, no stopping in Fire Nation villages until the war is over. From now on I'm fishing for all our food."

Toph laughed and Sokka glared at her, not realizing that she couldn't see it.

Katara and Aang weren't paying attention. The water bender was kneeling over her injured comrad, ignoring her own wound for the time being.

"Why did you do that?" Katara asked urgently. Her hands were on his shoulder, glowing with the healing energy of water from her canteen.

Aang gritted his teeth together, concentrating as the pain in his shoulder subsided. Once it had, he smiled at her. "I don't really know," he admitted.

"Hey, little sister," said Sokka. "You should heal yourself, first."

"I'll be fine," said an anxious Katara. She turned back to Aang. "Don't ever do something that stupid ever again, okay?"

"I was trying to save you," said Aang.

"Listen, Aang," said Katara, her voice rushing over her thoughts. "You can't let yourself die. The world needs you, the Avatar. Not me."

She pulled him into a hug so he couldn't see her tears.

Aang whispered to her trembling form, "_I_ need you. I love you." Except he didn't really whisper it. He only wished he did.

Katara went to work healing Sokka's side and Toph threw a punch into Aang's good shoulder. She was right, Aang thought to himself as he rubbed the spot. But attacking his problems head on, like an earth bender, was something that would have to wait for another day.

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I had to get Aang to throw himself in front of Katara to save her life. I know it's been done before. That's not the point. The point is more that he would do it without a second thought, or even a first thought. Toph would do the same thing, and so would Sokka, but it's more romantic if Aang does it. If you consider being shot at by fire blasts "romantic." My romantic experiences involviong fire blasts haven't traditionally ended well.

Thus concludes the episode "Weiji." If you think it should go on, let me know. If you think it's terrible and that I should stick to my day job instead of posting so often, let me know. I think the next episode would be focussed around my story "Spirit Bending," so you should read that if you want to see which direction this story can take.

This is dedicated to arizony. Of course Aang would leap in without thinking. I hope I got this update up soon enough for you to read it!

-samtana


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